(LiveMint)
India on Thursday put on auction a record exploration acreage for prospecting of oil and gas, from 55 blocks, in the first bid round in eight years. Each block on offer has been carved out by prospective bidders under the open acreage licensing (OAL) of the new Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said launching the round.
Blocks would be awarded to the company which offers highest share of oil and gas to the government as well as commits to do maximum exploration work by way of shooting 2D and 3D seismic survey and drilling exploration wells. “Last date of bidding is April 3,” Pradhan said, adding that the blocks would be awarded by June/July.
Increased exploration would lead to more oil and gas production, helping the world’s third largest oil importer to cut import dependence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of cutting oil import bill by 10% to 67% by 2022 and to half by 2030. India had in July last year allowed companies to carve out blocks of their choice with a view to bringing about 2.8 million square kilometres of unexplored area in the country under exploration.
